Simple Programmer Podcast

The Simple Programmer Podcast is a short podcast that is a mix of career advice, philosophy and soft skills from successful author and software developer, John Sonmez.
John is the founder of http://simpleprogrammer.com, one of the most popular software development blogs, and the author of the best-selling book, "Soft Skills: The Software Developer's Life Manual." (http://simpleprogrammer.com/softskills)
Geared towards a programmer or software developer audience, but contains practical advice on:
Career development
Entrepreneurship
Fitness
Finance
Productivity
Personal development
And more...
That anyone can benefit from.
Each episode is between 5 and 10 minutes long with at least 3 new episodes each week.

As some of you might know, I do a lot of cardio. I'm in an intensive workout and diet program so that I can lower my body fat percentage as much as I can. If you watch my YT channel regularly, you're probably aware that i want to drop my body fat percentage by 10% - 7%.

And the way I choose to do this is by enrolling in an intensive workout and fitness program (which is something I plan to release in the future) and by doing cardio. I run almost 4 hours per week and this is the training I decided to do.

However, a lot of people ask me why I don't do HIIT, which is high-intensity interval training. It seems that the HIIT trainings are known to burn a lot of calories within a small amount of time.

So, why I don't do HIIT? Is HIIT really effective for burning fat? How can I supposedly prefer cardio instead of HIIT for burning fat?

Software Development is definitely an awesome job. It provides a good financial stability for those who are in the field, it helps create the future and build awesome things, as well as being one of the most demanded jobs of our current landscape.

However, software development is not for everyone. You must be aware of how is the life of a software developer so that you can be aware if this is the right path for you.

Just like every career, software development has its ups and down, its pros and cons and, some people will perform better than others, while others might find this career a pain in the ass.

So, how do you know if you should pursue a career in software development? Is Software Development The Right Choice For You? Listen to this episode and find out!

A lot of programmers dream about becoming freelancers. Wouldn't it be awesome to not have a boss that tells you what to do and to have flexibility in your work? Work on your underwears, in your home, anytime you want?

Well... Maybe... But this dream fantasy that people sell you is usually not what happens. Yes, of course, these are some benefits of becoming a freelancer, but there are also a lot of downsides to this choice.

For example, let's take the money. When you're in a company, you get your salary each month PLUS some benefits, such as food, and other stuff your company might have agreed to support you. When you're a freelancer, all these expenses need to be covered by you... So, you would be losing money if you actually charged the same thing.

In this video, I'll explain if you're ready to make this transition to becoming a freelancer software developer and what are the things you should take into consideration when it comes to becoming a successful freelancer.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL: http://bit.ly/subscribesp Visit: http://simpleprogrammer.com/ GET MY NEW BOOK FOR FREE: https://simpleprogrammer.com/2016/07/04/complete-software-developers-career-guide-introduction/

Today I've partnered up with Troy Hunt to talk more about web security, data breaches and what the future holds when it comes to programming security and exposure.

if you don't know him, Troy Hunt is one of the most famous guys when it comes to studying and developing security solutions for all of these problems.

Here is how Troy Hunt defines himself, extracted from his website: "I'm Troy Hunt, an Australian Microsoft Regional Director and also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Developer Security. I don't work for Microsoft, but they're kind enough to recognise my community contributions by way of their award programs which I've been an awardee of since 2011. I get to interact with some fantastic people building their best products and then share what I know about creating secure applications for the web with the broader community."

So, come with me to enjoy this wonderful talk with Troy about web security, data breaches and what the future holds for security.

Learning Java can be complex yet simple at the same time. There are a lot of programmers who want to learn Java but don't know how to start. Java is an awesome programming language that could easily add some spice to your coding skills.

It can be really difficult at first, I know. There are a lot of resources and it is hard to tell what is the best way to start learning a new programming language.

As I've talked before, learning your first programming language can be difficult. You need to practice a lot and learning a programming language might take some time. You need to invest some time if you're learning Java for the first time. However, after the first programming language learned, you can follow the next steps easily.

So, where do you start if you want to learn Java? Which strategy should you follow if you want to learn this programming language? Listen to this episode and find out!

So, this is another book review, this time with a book that I consider being... Well... Kind of unique.

Dianetics is the book I'll be reviewing today. As some of you might know, I am a big fan of personal development, goal setting, and psychology. I found the mind aspect being one of the most powerful factors when determining if a person will be successful or not. Dianetics is definitely a good book that talks a lot about these aspects.

Here is the book description, extracted from Amazon: If you’ve ever felt there was something holding you back in life, ruining your plans and stopping you from being who you want to be, you were right.

The fact is, there is a single source of all your problems, stress, unhappiness and self-doubt. It’s called the reactive mind – the hidden part of your mind that stores all painful experiences, then uses them against you.

Dianetics gets rid of the reactive mind. It’s the only thing that does.

With over 20,000,000 copies in 50 languages, and used in more than 150 nations, Dianetics brings dramatic and permanent improvement to people all over the world.

Don’t live with insecurity, negative thoughts, depression and irrational behavior. Use Dianetics and get rid of your reactive mind.

Nowadays, there are a lot of different ways of working. You don't need to go to an office from 9-5 anymore. There are a lot of ways you can work and things you can do to start getting clients and working for a company.

You can work remotely, you can work flexible hours, you can start a contract and you can also get into a contract-to-hire position.

However... Is it a good option for you?

For those who don't know, a contract to hire position sets a length of time a contractor will work for the employer. At the end of that set period, the employer decides if the contractor will be hired as a permanent employee or dismiss the contractor.

However, there are absolutely some downsides to this position. Should you consider this? is this the right type of contract for you? Listen to this episode and find out!

A lot of people dream about becoming software developers. They see the potential that becoming a programmer can have and the amount of impact the coding can have in companies and the lives of people all around the world.

However, becoming a software developer is not that easy. This programming road is hard and it can take you some time to get into this field. Basically, if you choose to become a software developer, you'll be a student forever, and you'll have to be constantly improving and keeping up with your education.

While there are a lot of different tutorials on software development, the information about becoming a programmer is still blurry and newbies might find it difficult to cope up with all this blurry information.

Due to that, I decided to create a video with the Top 3 Way To become A Software Developer. There are many many roads you can follow if you want to become a software developer, however, these are the top 3 in my opinion: - Going To College - Going To A Developer Boot Camp - Self Learning

Wanna know more about becoming a software developer? Listen to this episode and find out!

Some software developers dream of becoming lead developers. In the programming world, this might mean more money and more input on company's project, as well as leading a team of people. Are you ready for that?

Becoming a lead developer in the software development world can definitely make huge shifts in your career. This is definitely an important role in any company that carries a huge weight, especially when it comes to making decisions.

However, not all can people can become lead developers. There are some important skills you might have if you really want to become a lead developer. Wanna know what are these skills?

Recently, I received a question of a reader for ours asking me what I think about LinkedIn, after it was acquired by Microsoft.

Recently, Microsoft bought the career and job social media network, LinkedIn, and a lot of people went nuts about it. They said that LinkedIn will be suffering a lot in the hands of Microsoft and they're already seeing some changed, especially on the money and finances section, where Microsoft is offering them a paid subscription for some of the users.

However, we should first ask ourselves a very important question: Is LinkedIn relevant for programmers? What can we expect with those changes?

One thing is true and we know: It all keeps changing and we can't avoid it. And first of all, we need to ask what impact our lives and what it doesn't.

So, if you're a programmer you need to first understand how these changes will affect you and, if these changes are, indeed, benefit to your career as a programmer.

So, how can you use LinkedIn to benefit your career? Listen to this episode and find out!

Following up the awesome interviews I'm recording with amazing people from the developer community, today I decided it was time to partner up with Ray Wenderlich to talk about building a successful programming career.

if you don't know Ray Wenderlich, he is a famous iOS developer that has developed a lot of different apps. Here is how he defines himself on LinkedIn

"Ray is an indie software developer currently focusing on iPhone and iPad development. He’s the founder of a small iPhone development studio called Razeware, and has released 6 apps so far.

In addition to making apps, Ray is also passionate about teaching others the techniques to make them. Ray runs a popular iOS development blog called www.raywenderlich.com, where he and a team of over 60 developers, forum moderators, and editors write high quality iOS tutorials. Ray is a co-author of several books and starter kits, including Learning Cocos2D, iOS 5 by Tutorials, iOS 6 by Tutorials, iOS Games by Tutorials, and the Space Game Starter Kit. Ray has over 10 years of programming experience, and is experienced in a wide variety of languages including Objective-C, C/C++. Java, C#, and Python."

So, if you wanna know more about building a successful programming career, with all the challenges and motivation roller coasters you'll face, watch this video and find out!

So, let's talk about programming! If you're inside the programming (which is not the same as coding lol) you've probably heard about "Agile Software Development", right?

But, what the heck is agile software development? Well, this is exactly what I'm going to talk about in this video.

Basically, agile software development describes a set of principles for programming and software development that has as core principles collaborative effort and organization between cross-functional teams. Developing an agile project means building something that promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery and continuous improvement, that encourages rapid and flexible response to change. Scrum is a good example of such agile methodology.

So, are you completely lost when it comes to agile software development? Watch this video and find out!

We all get all packed up with a lot of different things to do at some point in our lives. We start getting a lot of different things to do and, in the end, our life is full of different projects, things to finish and deadlines to meet.

This is why, from time to time, it is important to do what I call a "clean up" on your goals. You need to stop, focus, re-schedule everything, clean up unnecessary tasks and re-think everything you need to do.

The reason to do that is that it is easy to get lost on all of this tsunami of ideas inside of our minds. It can cause stress, anxiety and it can make us feel lost inside of so many things we need to do and take care of.

Resetting your goals from time to time will make you more focused and also will give you another perspective on your current tasks and objectives.

Wanna know more about resetting your goals and making your life stress free? Listen to this episode and find out!

I talk a lot about getting a job in this channel. I talk about how important perseverance is and why you should only be giving up after you hit your goal, not focusing on results but focusing on the process.

However, things might not get turn out how you expect and, even though you've applied for several jobs, you still might end up unemployed.

This situation is more common than you think. While there are a lot of different factors that can cause this situation, we can always try to improve ourselves and still get the benefit from it.

So... What should you do in this type of situation? What can you do to improve your pitching and still get hired even after you've applied for several different jobs?

So, this is definitely official. For those who only watch my YouTube channel, here is the official announcement for y'all. I'M WRITING A NEW BOOK!

So, over the past few weeks, I'm dropping all the chapters of my book for free on Simple Programmer's website.

This new book will be titled "The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide" and I'll talk about everything that a software developer should know when it comes to building a thriving and amazing career.

Career is definitely one of the most popular topics here, in my YouTube Channel and among most programmers. And it shouldn't be different. Knowing how to manage your career and going through all the process of becoming a software developer is a must for everyone who wants to succeed as a software developer.

The purpose of putting everything on my blog is to reach the most amount of people possible and to get feedback directly from you.

So, recently I did a video called "Coding Is Not The Same As Programming" and I've received a lot of comments on there. Definitely, it was one of my most popular videos and it polarized all my viewers.

However, one of the comments gathered my attention. Here are some of the comments that made me record this video:

"No, no, no, no, no. If you think people can become even a remotely decent programmer in 3 months, you are not just over optimistic, You are flat out wrong. An the claim that you could in a focus 3 months become a better biologist than some one who has been doing it for 10 years, you are caching a check that your ass can't cover. You sir are a fraud!"

"Simple Programmer is completely delusional in this video, sure you could write 4 novels in 3 months but they would all suck, there is no way you would be able to learn 4 real instruments in 3 months time, by real instruments I mean drums, guitar, piano, etc. not something like a shaker, get real dude, no matter how much adderall or ritalin you go on you're stretching the limit quite a bit. Focus is one thing, but time put in is another thing."

So, it really got me thinking and I decided to record a video about that. Are these people right? Couldn't you learn anything you wanted in 3 months? Are they right or am I wrong?

I've read The War Of Art a thousand times but I actually never had a chance to do a book review about that... Until now.

The War Of Art is definitely an amazing book and I've talked about it several times before. I keep reading back this book because I think it has such wonderful advice on there and it is such a powerful book especially for entrepreneurs.

Here is the book description from Amazon: A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul.

What keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do?

Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece?

Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.

The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline.

Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself.

Whether an artist, writer or business person, this simple, personal, and no-nonsense book will inspire you to seize the potential of your life.

Is it REALLY that good? Or it is something that it should be seen only as overrated? Listen to this episode and find out!

So, today I partnered up with an amazing guy, Chris Hawkes, which I know a lot of you like. He has an awesome YouTube Channel and most of my audience watches his YouTube Channel. So, I've figured that it would be incredible to partner up with him so that we could talk more about software development.

So, Chris and I had an amazing talk. We have discussed how to get into programming, what are the best ways to get into programming, what the future holds for programmers, some silly mistakes software developers still make and what are the best things you could adopt in your career to become a successful software developer.

Wanna know more about all this stuff and still get some incredible advice from Chris Hawkes? Watch this video and find out!

Most people end up their lives not knowing everything they could and not understanding how life really works. We get caught up in distractions and in the belief that we should master ONLY what we see in our jobs that we end up neglecting some other important stuff out there in the world.

Today I'm going to talk about what are the areas of your life that you MUST master. And what I mean master, I talk about understanding the principles and how everything operates.

Let's take nutrition for example. Nutrition is something that you see (and eat lol) every day. We are eating all the time and this is something we should be aware of. We must understand how particles and nutrients operate so we can know what will be the best and the worst food for our bodies.

But this does not only apply to nutrition. We can talk the same about money, financial education, social skills, negotiation skills, etc.

Wanna know more about all the areas you should master in life? Listen to this episode and find out!

So, as you may know, I got back from China... Fat. Since then, I started a solid new fitness program totally focused and, in this video, I decided it was time to share my results with you.

Besides that, I'll talk about my new fitness program I have coming up on the next weeks, depending on how you guys react to it. Wanna know more about this new fitness program and how my body fat loss is progressing?

Sometimes we all feel lost in life. There are periods in our lives where we don't know what we should do, what path we should follow and, more important, who we are.

Lots of people spend their entire lives trying to find themselves. They ask a lot of questions about who they really are. Some people leave everything behind and go on a "spiritual journey", mostly traveling the world. Others, never are able to find who they really are, and they end up chasing this and frustrated.

But... Is this "find yourself" myth true? How are we supposed to find ourselves? Is there a proven way to find ourselves, if this so called find really exists?

What if there was another way to go on this road and actually make this "finding yourself" process a lot easier?

SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL: http://bit.ly/subscribesp Visit: http://simpleprogrammer.com/ SUPPORT THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.patreon.com/simpleprogrammer The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior: https://simpleprogrammer.com/peacefulwarrior

Today I catch up with an amazing guy, Dave Rael, from Developer On Fire. Dave's story is one that I really admire. He definitely was like fire, blasting everything in his way.

For those who watch my channel, you know how much I talk about taking action and why it is so important to change your current situation. A lot of people absorb a lot of content passively but they don't actually end up putting that thing in practice.

Dave started his podcast and, now, he is experiencing a huge success in his career and also personal fulfilment. Wanna know more about my talk with Dave?

Getting girls can be difficult for programmers. We are usually stereotyped under the category of "nerds" and "strange people". It can be really hard for some software developers to go after girls and establish any type of communication. As you might know, this was one of the main reasons why I created the "Attracting Women & Becoming A Better Man Playlist".

In today's episode, we are going to talk about one of our readers that can't get girls hooked on him. he is facing some serious problems to get, not only girls but people in general, hooked on him.

So, what should he do in a situation like this? What can he do to make people hooked on him? Watch this video and find out!

There is a lot of bragging about cardio and aerobic exercises. Does it really kill all of your efforts when it comes to building muscle and losing fat?

in order to get the body we really want we must do basically two different things: build muscle and lose fat. There are a lot of different ways to achieve that goal. You can do both of these things separately (which is known as bulking and cutting) or you can do it at the same time.

One of the most popular ways of losing body fat is aerobic exercises, or "cardio" for what it is known better. However, a lot of bodybuilders and people who want to gain muscle end up not doing cardios at all, due to the fact that it might affect your muscle gain process.

However, is it really true? Does cardio kill your muscles? Watch this video and find out!

Have you ever heard about events that happen during our lives that can literally change the course of it? Well, this is exactly what we're going to talk about in today's video.

The reason why I wanted to bring up this concept was to talk about identity. I've experienced a situation in my life where I have had a serious injury in my chest, during an accident at the gym. This has literally made me question everything I had at the point and the identity I've built for myself during that period.

I'm going to quote Tony Robbins on this one and say that "What is life is not happening to you, but for you?". Have you ever wondered that?

Wanna know more about this powerful concept? Listen to this podcast and find out!